The Brvtalist is proud to present a special mini mix from 30drop. He shares an exclusive mixed introduction to his forthcoming LP on Axis Records, from the legendary Techno pioneer Jeff Mills. 'Photosynthetic Zone Manifesto LP' showcases 30drop's futuristic sound, presenting a fusion of abstract sci-fi techno laced with Electro & IDM.
Tracks:
- Audrey III
- Psychoxylema Despair
- Verdant Replisome
You can pick up the release exclusively at Axis Shop on June 25th.
Read the exclusive interview by Melanie Havens with 30drop below to learn more about the release and much more.
-MH
Melanie Havens: Your new album Photosynthetic Zone Manifesto has a really strong concept. Could you tell us more about it and also about your collaboration with Meritxell Rosell, who played an important role in its creation?
30drop: All my LPs can be defined as "concept albums". This is why my way of working is always based on a concept that I am interested in and that I have tried to study and investigate. In this sense, an LP is to me the conclusion about this previous study and understanding.
My last LP 'Soroban' (Axis, 2020) was focused on the concept of human’s mind development. In my new LP 'Photosynthetic Zone Manifesto' I wanted to investigate and speculate on an hypothetical, and why not possible, evolution of plant-life in other planets, even developing some kind of intelligence.
Meritxell Rosell is not only a very good friend of mine but also PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology. She was the right expert to advise me on the scientific side. Also to speculate together. I think it is very interesting to see how Art can stimulate and inspire Science and vice versa.
Due to our same tastes and interests in Science, the Universe and Science Fiction, the collaboration with her has been very enjoyable, fun and above all inspiring.
MH: How was the creative and technical process of your new album?
30drop: The starting point that caught my attention and encouraged me to get into this work was the cult film Silent Running. The movie is about a group of cosmonauts and future interplanetary colonists that travel into large spaceships to conquer new worlds. The spaceships are equipped with greenhouses full of terrestrial plant-life, ready to be replanted in the new conquered planets. I recommend the soundtrack of the movie, done by Joan Baez.
That was just the beginning, and then the whole conceptual development and scientific study began. Afterwards, I put all these ideas into the different songs that ended up into ‘Photosynthetic Zone Manifesto’.
In terms of music, my idea was to capture an evolution that went from the simplest to the most complex.
In the creation process, another important part to me was capturing the concept of interconnected beings creating a planetary mind. I tried to capture this concept by creating a multitude of sound layers that interacted with each other in an harmonic way.
In the technical aspect, it has been significant the time I dedicated to give complexity and density to the tracks, starting from clean sounds and without using excessive processing or effects to achieve it.
MH: Since the philosophical message is an important and crucial ingredient in your final product, how did you plan to inject your mind into the macrocosmos of the Music?
30drop: I always felt connected to music. It's something organic and natural that, without knowing exactly how, it has been there for as long as I can remember. The same happens to me with geometry and aesthetics. Hence my great affinity with artistic movements like Russian Constructivism or Bauhaus.
I understand music as an interface that decodes mathematical language. The relation between Geometry-Maths-Music has universal and deeply linked concepts.
Every living being has a way of expression. In the case of humans they are very well defined but there are also alternative forms of expression such as artistic creation with exponents like Munch, Die Brücke, Klee, Kandinsky or Basquiat. In my case, music is my most used means of expression and the one with which I express my most abstract and meditated thoughts.
MH: In your album’s press release, when you state that “other combinations are possible and therefore other forms of life are also possible” it does sound as something intriguing and interesting. Are you able to comment which are those “other combinations”?
30drop: Sure, I am passionate about this issue. Life forms on Earth are based on carbon, without it DNA could not be created. But scientists have shown that in other parts of the Universe, life could be based on other elements such as silicon, methane, etc. This leads directly to life forms totally different from those we see on Earth.
All molecular combinations could be possible in favourable environments. This is another starting point to develop the idea of possible plant evolution towards unimaginable and why not intelligent forms? I imagine a planet with intelligent plant-life based on the development of mental interaction. A place where the lack of physical movement has given way to a very high development of mental capacities that for us would be Science Fiction. It might resemble the hypotheses of future developments of Artificial Intelligences that we are beginning to develop on Earth.
MH: How do you feel it would be a Plant-Life Universe without human interference?
30drop: We can let our imagination run wild, but I think our brains are too limited to even understand what it could be like.
As I said before, I think everything would be much more about mental interaction and symbiosis in higher states of consciousness. It is also interesting to imagine what the technology developed by such beings could be like. Our technology has had a significant development in the field of displacement, from the wheel to the most modern rockets. Technology developed by beings who do not need to physically move could be something far more ethereal based on interaction and exchange of energies and cooperation on a planetary level.
MH: Are there any authors, writers, philosophers or the like who have inspired or influenced you to come up with your current conceptual work?
30drop: Absolutely yes. People like Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Aldous Huxley, Stanislav Lem, Andrei Tarkovsky, Carl Sagan, Hans Zimmer, Jeff Mills, and so on.
MH: What other forms of Art inspire you?
30drop: Painting, architecture, cinema and literature. And above all, nature.
MH: What do you usually listen to? Any new artists that caught up your attention?
30drop: I usually listen to music by composers like Arvo Part or Steve Reich. Also electronic music like Pan Sonic or Autechre and bands like Sunn O)))), The Cure, Throbbing Gristle, Skinny Puppy or Dead Can Dance. As you can see, nothing too new... haha!
On the other hand I obviously listen to 30D Records related stuff, new music we're thinking of releasing, demos, and so on. And unfortunately I also have to spend time listening to the multitude of new promos I get my hands on. In my opinion, 95% of them are totally dispensable.
I find it unbelievable that the current techno scene has put quantity before quality. Probably the ease of releasing new music nowadays is the reason. I think we need to have a much greater capacity for self-criticism than what we are seeing at the moment. Putting 4 sounds together with Ableton doesn't make you a producer or a musician or anything like that.
MH: Let’s talk a bit about your imprint. What’s 30D Records vision?
30drop: 30D is a label made under the old school look of what a record label used to be. And that is, a label created for the love of music and with the mission to release quality new music from both established artists and new talents that we invest a lot of time in discovering and helping to evolve.
30D is not a label created with the intention of boosting an artist's career as a marketing tool, which unfortunately is very common nowadays in electronic music. It's a shame to see how this behavior is proving to be very harmful for the scene. In the same way I miss the way the legendary labels of the past worked when the artist was linked to a label and created a symbiotic relationship that helped both parties grow artistically at mid and long term.
It saddens me to see how nowadays, people making music desperately try to get any label to release their tracks to try to get exposure as a DJ. Or how people with no knowledge whatsoever create labels as a plaything because they once went to Berlin and come back home thinking they are the new Daniel Miller and capable of creating a new Mute. Do they have the right to do that? Yes, of course they do. Is it ethical? Personally I don't think so.
MH: Could you pick 4 releases from the label that are special to you and tell us why?
30drop: No priority, only in order release date:
30drop: The Time Of Cruel Miracles LP [30DLP-001]: https://www.30drecords.com/releases/30drop-the-time-of-cruel-miracles-lp/
My second long album (first vas in Detroit Underground) and first LP on the label. I think it defines very well the essence of my project 30drop and the aesthetics of 30D Records.
30drop meets Arpanet: Phases EP [30D-006]:
https://www.30drecords.com/releases/30drop-meets-arpanet-phases-ep-30d-006/
To be able to have Detroit legend Gerald Donald as Arpanet was a milestone for me and for the label as well. His 2 tracks on this release are incredible. For my part I tried to bring 2 tracks in the same sound aesthetic.
Terrence Dixon: Vertical Hold EP [30DEXO-006]:
https://www.30drecords.com/releases/terrence-dixon-vertical-hold-ep-30dexo-006/
We are lucky to have Terrence Dixon (and his side project Population One) on the label from the beginning. I still find this EP to be of sublime quality. It is undoubtedly a great piece of work.
Conrad Van Orton & Jhean: Outsiding Passage EP [30DEYES-003]
https://www.30drecords.com/releases/conrad-van-orton-jheal-outsiding-passage-ep-30deyes-003/
Angel Molina is the A&R and Label Manager of 30D. Also the sub-label 'Eyes Have It' is 100% managed by him and is where we release 30D's most daring, dark and experimental music. This EP is my favorite from Eyes Have It so far. The CVO tracks captivated me from the first moment.
MH: What’s coming up next for you as an artist and also your label? Any upcoming releases, new projects, or anything else you’d like to mention?
30drop: As for me as 30drop I will continue to work on new music (going more and more abstract lately) and try to promote my performances whether live, as a DJ or with my hybrid format. I am also working hard to be able to launch my art installations projects soon either physically or virtually. It is possible that after the summer we will see a first work in this field in which I am working together with visual artist Barbara Klein aka Iceyancidt.
As for 30D, we have some very exciting news:
We have signed with Clone distribution for all our music worldwide. This will provide us with a more professional environment that suits our sound and needs.
And in terms of new releases, we have some great things coming up like a re-release of the Arpanet tracks on a limited edition vinyl. A new Terrence Dixon LP, a very interesting Jiman EP and the vinyl edition of my first Axis LP 'Soroban'.
Oh and some label party projects seem to be looming in the distance.... Stay tuned ;)